Working class voters flock to Tories as Labour struggles to hold on to its base

April 26, 2017

Class is no longer the dividing line in British politics that it once was, with Theresa May’s Conservatives winning over the working class from Jeremy Corbyn.

In the 1992 General Election, things were simple. The Tories were seen as the party of the middle class while Labour could rely on the working class vote.

Back then the Conservatives led Labour among ABC1 (middle class) voters by around 30 points, while Labour was leading among C2DE (working class) voters by around 10 percentage points.

But today, the Tories lead among all groups of voters, with a massive surge in support among the working class for Theresa May.

Polling by YouGov shows that, as the 2017 General Election campaign beings, the Conservatives hold a 22 per cent lead among middle class voters and a 17 per cent lead among the working class.

Theresa May claimed that she wanted to create a “more united” country in calling the General Election, seeking to repair the divisions caused by the EU referendum.

With her vision for Brexit, she seems to be doing a good job of winning over working class people in Britain – a group that voted for Brexit in greater numbers than the overall population.

This has lead to a boost for the Tories among a group that, in the past, would have never have thought of supporting them in such numbers.

Some 43 per cent of C2DE voters – which includes skilled and unskilled manual labourers, casual workers and pensioners – said that they intend to vote Tory in the upcoming General Election, rising just three points among ABC1 voters, who include managerial, administrative or professional workers.

The Labour Party has sunk to attracting just 24 per cent of middle class and 26 per cent of working class voters.

The lead between the Tories and Labour among middle class voters has shrunk since 1992, with Labour performing better among middle class metropolitan voters.